60 flights in with the TH so far, and levels of trust are high, and so I am gradually working my way over the South Downs, and ultimately up to the highest hill in Hampshire (Butser). And I'm getting close now - only 800m away from the summit this time - I have at least made it to the ridge of the hill.
The Typhoon H is an unknown quantity in proximity to that massive transmitter mast up there on the far hill, so I wanted to do a 'scout flight' where we fly in far proximity of it, and monitor for problems, with zero risk to the mast itself lest anything go horribly wrong. I was also on extra high alert by the KP index of 4, which is the maximum I will fly in, so was ready to kill GPS at a second's notice...
But there weren't any signal or video problems - not one, and indeed the H held its own, even at 400 ft and remained flawlessly nailed to the sky and fully maneuverable in some pretty furious wind once we got above the treeline and out into valleys. What was 5 mph on the ground was about 6 times that further up...
Even though we're pretty much as high as we can legally get, and over some suitably epic scenery, this vid isn't a great win, as I had driven round for an hour first trying to find somewhere else to fly, and ultimately by the time I arrived here had left it a little too late, light was difficult, and I had an ND4 on (and a rather inferior one at that !) that I probably should have removed before I started.
From this video we can learn the following:
1. Neewer filters really are rubbish in contrasty light conditions, and I am now fairly sure they are not a properly neutral density evenly across the filter. And that non-uniformity results in a blue-ish cast that gives slightly unnatural results when you try and grade it out...
2. Probably should have left an ND off altogether
3. Next time get up earlier and go in the day
4. Don't do one flight in Sunset / Sunrise WB Mode, then another one in Cloudy - it will make matching shots in the grade much more annoying. Idiot
But never mind - it's good to admit these mistakes so we can all do better next time. Such as it is, enjoy
The Typhoon H is an unknown quantity in proximity to that massive transmitter mast up there on the far hill, so I wanted to do a 'scout flight' where we fly in far proximity of it, and monitor for problems, with zero risk to the mast itself lest anything go horribly wrong. I was also on extra high alert by the KP index of 4, which is the maximum I will fly in, so was ready to kill GPS at a second's notice...
But there weren't any signal or video problems - not one, and indeed the H held its own, even at 400 ft and remained flawlessly nailed to the sky and fully maneuverable in some pretty furious wind once we got above the treeline and out into valleys. What was 5 mph on the ground was about 6 times that further up...
Even though we're pretty much as high as we can legally get, and over some suitably epic scenery, this vid isn't a great win, as I had driven round for an hour first trying to find somewhere else to fly, and ultimately by the time I arrived here had left it a little too late, light was difficult, and I had an ND4 on (and a rather inferior one at that !) that I probably should have removed before I started.
From this video we can learn the following:
1. Neewer filters really are rubbish in contrasty light conditions, and I am now fairly sure they are not a properly neutral density evenly across the filter. And that non-uniformity results in a blue-ish cast that gives slightly unnatural results when you try and grade it out...
2. Probably should have left an ND off altogether
3. Next time get up earlier and go in the day
4. Don't do one flight in Sunset / Sunrise WB Mode, then another one in Cloudy - it will make matching shots in the grade much more annoying. Idiot
But never mind - it's good to admit these mistakes so we can all do better next time. Such as it is, enjoy
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